Walking in Suffolk – Rambling on!

Fox Fritillary Meadow – On the Suffolk Tourist route – About 10 mins away

The largest of only four remaining snake’s head fritillary sites in Suffolk, this reserve is an ancient floodplain meadow. Fritillaries thrive in land that periodically floods. In spring the emergence of the grass-like foliage is soon followed by displays of up to 300,000 nodding purple-chequered and white flower heads in mid-April to early May.

Eighteen fritillary sites were known in Suffolk in 1889, but sadly most have been lost through drainage or ploughing. The fritillaries bloom alongside early meadow flowers such as cowslip and cuckoo flower.

The meadow is managed by an early summer hay cut followed by aftermath grazing.
The site gets its name from the Fox family who owned Boundary Farm between 1922 and 1976 and helped Suffolk Wildlife Trust buy the meadow.

Visiting the meadow is strictly by prior arrangement only. Please ensure you contact Suffolk Wildlife Trust (01473 890089) before you visit.
Dogs on leads welcome

Bonny Wood

“A fantastic ancient, semi-natural woodland with superb circular walks. During spring it’s worth getting here for the dawn chorus alone!”

Bonny Wood is an ancient coppice woodland and part of the Barking Tye woods which are a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for the quality of coppice wood habitats and in particular the ground flora. The best time to visit is from late April to late June when the coppiced areas are brimming with wood anemone, woodruff and herb-paris. Look out for orchids in the wood, you may find early-purple orchids, lesser twayblade, common spotted orchid and if you look carefully you may be lucky enough to spot a greater butterfly orchid.

Birds are plentiful with melodies from summer migrants such as blackcap and willow warbler mingling with the song of resident species. There are frequent sightings of hobby and at dusk, you may catch a glimpse of woodcock performing their mating display. Evidence of a healthy badger population is reflected by the number of setts. Again, dogs welcome on leads.

There are also some expansive forest over by the coast at Rendlesham and Tunstall with a myriad of walks.

There are also nature reserves at Minsmere and Dunwich, slightly further afield as detailed below.

We are only half an hour or so from the beautiful heritage coast with such towns as Aldeburgh, Orford, Southwold, Thorpeness, Walberswick and Woodbridge all in easy reach. At least one of these is a must during your holiday here. We are so lucky to have one of the best stretches of coast in England half an hour away!

There are some beautiful places to visit and the best thing is these places like Orford, Mersea Island (Essex), Aldeburgh, Dunwich are all candyfloss and one-armed bandit free!

River Alde
With its source in Laxfield (Great Pub there – The Low House!), initially a stream, it becomes tidal and widens considerably when it reaches Snape. It meanders East past Aldeburgh (you must go there!) after which this part of the river was named. The river then becomes known as the River Ore as it approaches Orford where it once entered the sea – however, the mouth of the river has now been pushed some five miles further south as shingle has accumulated over hundreds of years – after which it splits to form Havergate Island and is joined by its tributary, the Butley River, before reaching the sea at Shingle Street.

The lower reaches of the river passes through marshland and shingle or sand beaches. The shingle spit that blocks the river, Orford Ness, is now some 10 miles in length and is owned by the National Trust. The main area through which the River Alde flows is open countryside in private ownership, much of it arable farmland.

The tidal reaches (below Snape Bridge) are within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths area of outstanding natural beauty, as well as being a Site of special scientific interest, a designated Special area of conservation and a Special Protection Area. An RSPB reserve, Boyton Marshes, is situated between the River Ore and the Butley River. A registered charity, the Alde & Ore Association, exists to “preserve and protect for the public benefit the Alde, Ore and Butley Creek rivers and their banks from Shingle Street to their tidal limits”.

During Tudor times, the river served as a port from which four ships were launched to fight against the Spanish Armada. The river no longer serves as a port but as an area for yacht club members to gather to sail.

River Deben
The River Deben is a tidal estuary in Suffolk, flowing through largely unspoilt countryside for nearly 25 miles from its source near Debenham (yes, it is where the department store got its name from) to the North Sea at Felixstowe Ferry. The Deben is tidal for about 13 miles, from Bromeswell, just upstream from Woodbridge.

Have a look at the River Deben website for more info and to find out about the work they do.

River Gipping
The River Gipping Trust is preserving the historic heritage of the Stowmarket Navigation by restoring the structures that enabled navigation of the River Gipping from the docks in Ipswich to Stowmarket and caring for the flora and fauna of The Gipping Valley. Go to The River Gipping Trust website for lots more info. Charles Dickens is known to have visited the area and written about fishing on the Orwell and Gipping Rivers. We have details of the Gipping Walks for you to use and enjoy in all the cottages.

A great holiday favourite with our guests and an absolute must is Minsmere; you go to Dunwich where you can pick up the best Fish & Chips there right on the beach, maybe buy some fresh fish from the fishermen’s huts and then drive 10 minutes down the coast to Minsmere ‘Lookout point’ which is owned by the National Trust and has a Gastro cafe at the lookout tower – amazingly good value and great food which they cook all themselves.

So… this is the lovely Minsmere, where you can see the most unusual bird in the sanctuary or just enjoy the wonderful walks where the heathland stretches down to the beach and back around the marshes through the woodland paths – even a great foodie pub on the way at Eastbridge – a day you will enjoy and remember forever.

The pretty town of Woodbridge is also in this neck of the woods and here you can visit the picturesque quay and the unique ‘Tide Mills’.

Pin Mill harbour on the Orwell Estuary is very pretty and has a great pub called the Butt & Oyster with good food and lovely walks.

The Butley Oysterage at Orford is really great, it has a lovely selection of local oysters, crabs, lobsters and fish all completely fresh plus a great smokery and wonderful quirky restaurant/cafe where you can just as easily wash down your oysters and brown bread with a cup of builders best tea or a bottle of Dom Perignon, all very unpretentious and very good value.

Orford has an imposing castle, a couple of excellent Gastro pubs and is a pretty tiny harbour village at the end of the world where you can get ferry trips over to the mysterious MOD Pagodas on the Massive Orford Ness Nature Reserve opposite.

Here is a quick rundown of the nicest local beaches near Woodfarm Barns, all of which are worth a visit;

Bawdsey – A pretty resort with a small sandy beach and boat jetty, quiet.

Shingle Street – A quiet resort with a mainly shingle (surprise!) beach, it has a desolate but magical quality and is designated as a place of special scientific interest because of the rare plants and flowers that survive in this wind-swept beach. The wild activity of the river Ore meeting the sea will keep you fascinated for hours.

Southwold – 40 mins away

This is a pretty, busy seaside town; it has lots of stunning houses and an old centre with many interesting shops including one just selling local amber. There are a couple of great ‘old-style’ hotels where you can take tea or drink in real style and a few antique shops to nose around in. At one end of the town is the beach hut & pier attraction and at the other there is the grand house quaint harbour. A town of many variations. Have a look into the old Seaman’s missions reading room – it’s free and is filled with many odd museum pieces, living and dead! Maybe you will find some amber treasure on the beach yourself.

Manningtree – 30 mins away

Into Essex again, the picturesque villages of Manningtree and Mistley are at the mouth of the River Stour, along which you will pass by all of John Constable’s famous locations like Willy Lott’s cottage and The Haywain. This is also the start of a number of great long-distance walks up the coast or along the River Stour.